Month: May 2015

Ted Cruz Would Be a ‘Watchman on the Wall’ in ‘Game of Thrones’

Buck Banks

The modern Democratic Party has become so radical, so extreme, that they have determined that their devotion to mandatory gay marriage in all 50 states trumps any allegiance to religious liberty under the First Amendment. We’ve got an obligation, as this conference recognizes, to be watchmen on the wall.

— Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), quoted by Time.

Most Americans Express Disappointment in Republican Congress

Buck Banks

65%

Of Americans say congressional Republicans are not keeping the promises they made during the campaign, while just 23% say they are, according to a new national survey by Pew Research Center. Nearly four in 10 (37%) say the new Congress has accomplished less than they expected, while 4% say it has accomplished more than expected. About half (53%) say its accomplishments are in line with what they expected.

Bush’s CIA Briefer: Cheney and Bush Lied about Iraq Nukes

Jon Ponder
Mike Morell, the CIA officer who briefed George W. Bush on intelligence, during his appearance on MSNBC's "Hardball"
Mike Morell, the CIA officer who briefed George W. Bush on intelligence, during his appearance on MSNBC’s “Hardball”

Why did George Bush and Dick Cheney invade Iraq? Their foundational rationale for the invasion was to prevent Saddam Hussein from using nuclear weapons they claimed he had. Based on what we know now, of course, those claims were either lies or they were based on faulty intelligence. Republicans are desperate to assert it was the latter — that Bush and Cheney were merely incompetent and relied on bad data — because if the former were true, if Bush and Cheney knowing lied about their rationale for taking the country to war, they were guilty of a massive war crime and, by all rights, should be sitting the Hague today.

Earlier this week, Mike Morell, the CIA officer who served as George Bush’s chief intelligence briefer, confirmed that the claims by Bush, Cheney and others that Saddam Hussein had nuclear weapons were lies.

Video and transcript follow…

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‘Mad Men’ Finale Affected the Stock Market

Buck Banks

0.15%

Amount the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell the day after the series finale of “Mad Men.” A study of 165 TV series finales shows that the wave of negative mood caused by the end of a popular and beloved show reduces the net demand for risky assets and decreases aggregate stock returns, says Gabriele M. Lepori of Copenhagen Business School. Specifically, if the number of viewers of a finale is 1 standard deviation above Lepori’s sample average, stock returns fall approximately 25 basis points the next day, all else constant. The finale of the drama “Mad Men” drew 3.3 million live and same-day viewers.

GOP Primary Race Is Either ‘Christmas’ or ‘Halloween,’ Depending …

Buck Banks

Nothing much is going on right now in the 2016 presidential campaign – unless you’re a Republican political junkie, in which case every day is Christmas or, perhaps, Halloween. Did you know that Donald Trump might actually run this time, instead of using our nation’s highest office to promote his reality-TV show? Or that the very former governor of New York, George Pataki, thinks he’s a candidate? Are you tremendously relieved that the GOP’s most persistent Dr. Strangelove — former U.N. ambassador John Bolton — has taken his hat out of the ring? I sure am. But that leaves 15 or more candidates either in it or circling.

Joe Klein, writing in Time.

Millionaire Fiorina Stiffed Dozen Campaign Workers for Four Years

Buck Banks

12

Of about 30 people who worked on Carly Fiorina’s failed 2010 California Senate campaign told Reuters they would not work for her again. “Fiorina, once one of America’s most powerful businesswomen, is now campaigning for the Republican nomination in 2016. The reason: for more than four years, Fiorina – who has an estimated net worth of up to $120 million – didn’t pay them, a review of Federal Election Commission records shows.”

Rand Paul Determined to Stick Out from the GOP Crowd

Buck Banks

Sen. Rand Paul didn’t get the same backing from his Republican colleagues than the last time he talked his way through legislative deadlines – but that’s part of the point. This was a stunt that was about his 2016 candidacy, if the campaign merchandising push and online trolling of Ted Cruz and Hillary Clinton didn’t make that clear. It shows, again, that Paul will inject a strain of national-security thinking into the GOP debates that will push his rivals in uncomfortable ways. It’s possible that his timing is off; the march of ISIS, with scenes of beheadings seared into memories, might change the tone of any discussion inside the Republican Party. But Rand standing alone will make him stand out, for better or worse.

— Rick Klein, on ABC News.

Bush Claims Science is Undecided on Climate Change — and He Lives in Florida!

Buck Banks

For the people to say the science is decided on this is really arrogant, to be honest with you. It’s this intellectual arrogance that now you can’t have a conversation about it, even. The climate is changing. We need to adapt to that reality.

— Jeb Bush, hitting back against President Obama’s claim that climate change runs an immediate risk, adding that while it shouldn’t be ignored, it’s still not “the highest priority,” CNN reports.